The American Rescue Plan has been passed and checks are being deposited into people’s bank accounts. Will the cash register? “Biden’s bill was designed to send regular monthly checks to millions of American families, so it will be palpable that the government is helping them in a tough moment. Gone are the work requirements, the sensitivity to the risk of inflation, and other centrist concerns that have been at the heart of Democratic programs for decades.” Nicholas Lemann in The New Yorker: Biden’s bill is a sign that our democracy isn’t completely broken, and may convince Americans that government can solve problems. (Money can’t solve all your problems. But it can solve the problem of needing some more money.)

+ Adam Serwer in The Atlantic: “The passage of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 symbolizes more than an ideological divergence on public policy; it reflects a radically different theory of governance. The Democrats are no saints, but they’ve come to believe that both the viability of their party and the sustainability of American democracy depend on their capacity to broaden their appeal to right-leaning voters. Trump wanted to punish his enemies; Biden must convince Trump supporters that he is not their enemy. Defeating Trump was but a battle; defeating Trumpism is the war.” (In other words, this stimulus doesn’t punish red states, it helps them.) Biden Chooses Prosperity Over Vengeance.